The Fall of Brazilian Football and the Hope of the Olympics

This week’s Football Circus sees us shift our focus away from the domestic season. With only a week gone in the new season, there is plenty of opportunity ahead to dissect Pep versus Jose, the success and failure of summer signings and title and relegation battles. Therefore, we are this week going to take a look at the fallen giant that is the Brazilian national team ahead of the Olympics final against Germany on Saturday.

The Fall of Brazilian Football and the Hope of the Olympics

Brazilian football has been on a downward spiral over the past number of years. This fact was punctuated when the national team were knocked out of the 2014 World Cup by Germany at the semi-final stage, emphatically losing 7-1. The World Cup stirred up a great deal of controversy in Brazil. Demonstrations took place prior to the competition taking place due to the amount of public money pumped into the event. In fact, protests which occurred during the 2013 Confederations Cup, also hosted in Brazil, suggested that the World Cup would be marred by public unrest. Nevertheless, there was hope, that Brazil would once again be reunited through footballing success.

On paper, the 2014 Brazil squad looked average in comparison to those of World Cups past. Neymar’s name stood out however. The Barcelona forward represented all that was good about Brazilian football - Youthful exuberance, pace, natural ability, skill and most importantly, an ability to find the back of the net. So it was almost seen as a national tragedy when the diminutive striker picked up an injury in the quarter-final against Colombia and found himself sidelined for the semi-final clash with the might of Germany. As the Canarinho lined up before the semi-final kickoff, goalkeeper Julio Cesar and defender David Luiz held a “Neymar Jr. 10” jersey aloft in honour of their fallen teammate, as they proudly sang the national anthem. That very moment, before a ball was even kicked, all but confirmed that this particular Brazil team, was doomed.

A football team’s reliance on an individual rarely results in ultimate glory. Just ask Lionel Messi and Argentina. Better yet, ask Lionel Messi and Barcelona. The Catalan side are acutely aware that one swallow does not make a summer. The Spanish giants would be devastated were they ever to lose the Argentine. That being said, they haven’t been afraid to contemplate the possibility and in recent summers have splashed out on Luis Suarez and the aforementioned Neymar. Not bad backup plans.

Unfortunately for Brazil, the luxury of the transfer market is not an option. They must produce the players themselves. Neymar is realistically the only success story to have emerged since the days of Ronaldo, Rivaldo and latterly, Ronaldinho. So why has the conveyor belt of talent seemingly come to a standstill? To a certain degree, Brazil has become a victim of its own success. For years, decades in fact, Brazil has been hailed and renowned as the home of the world’s best footballers. The beaches and favelas have combined to become a hotbed of raw talent. Street football and futsal are played from dawn till dusk and more often than in any other country (Brazil has a population of 200 million), diamonds emerge from the rough.

In the past two decades, cash rich European giants have swooped in to sign Brazilian youngsters who have displayed even a modicum of potential, in the hope that they may become the next Ronaldo or Ronaldinho. While Neymar is the exception, having spent a healthy four years at Santos before joining Barcelona at the relatively mature age of 21, there is an endless list of Brazilian talent who have moved to Europe as a teen only to see their potential unfulfilled: Denilson (formerly of Arsenal) moved to Europe at just 18; Rodrigo Possebon (who later declared for Italy in the hope of international football) started his career at Manchester United at just 18; Robinho, despite winning club honours in Spain and Italy, moved to Real Madrid at just 19 and failed to make an impression on the international scene.

Fast forward to summer 2016. Brazil is playing host to a less anticipated, if equally monumental, sporting event, in the Olympic Games. Football is but a footnote compared to track and field events which feature internationally heralded names such as Usain Bolt. Brazilians have little to no vested interest in such events, regardless of the focus from the rest of the world. Because Brazil loves football. But there within lies a beacon of hope. In the midst of opening ceremonies, Usain Bolt’s records and furore surrounding boxing decisions, the men’s football tournament has reached the final stage. The contestants? Brazil and Germany.

Neymar has unsurprisingly been the star as the Samba Stars have progressed through the tournament, recording scores such as 4-0 and 6-0 along the way. Two of his teammates both go by the name of Gabriel. One is Gabriel Jesus, aged 19, recently signed by Manchester City from Palmeiras. The other is Gabriel Barbosa, also 19, currently plying his trade with Santos.  Both players are seen as forwards and have notched up an impressive 43 goals between them in a total of three years. Jesus will join up with City in January. Barbosa remains contracted to Santos, but is the subject of serious interest from Leicester City and Manchester United.

A victory in Saturday’s final against Germany may signal the rejuvenation of Brazilian football. Certainly, dreams of World Cup and Copa America success will be rekindled for many. But with their emerging stars already prepared to succumb to the appeal of European football, is this new generation destined for failure before they’ve really been given a chance? Time will tell…

Football Circus Roundup

Juan Sebastian Veron is coming out of retirement at the ripe old age of 41, as confirmed by Estudientes’ Twitter account.

Nelson FC have found themselves a new fan in the form of Spiderman…

Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic shared an awkward moment in their post-match interview with Sky Sports, as they were informed that teammate Eric Bailly, and not one of the two forwards, had been awarded the Man of the Match award.

Petr Cech’s day went from bad to worse after Arsenal lost to Liverpool as the Czech keeper crashed his car leaving the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.

47 year old former Croatia international Robert Prosinecki has told Croatian newspaper Jutarnji of his shock over €90 million Juventus signing Gonzalo Higuain’s fitness levels:

“When I saw him I was shocked. He’s even fatter than me!

Juventus paid €90million for Higuain and a pig arrived in Turin instead. I can imagine Max Allegri’s shock after insisting so much on his signing.

In the end though, I’m sure they’ll get him in shape quickly”.

Fantasy Football

After week one of our Fantasy Football efforts we’ve returned a respectable 54 points, albeit with little assistance from the bargain players we included. Here’s how our team scored:

Included in the lineup were “potential bargains”: Valdes, Sagna, Sane, Downing, Carroll and Musa. We also had Darren Fletcher and Leceister duo Morgan and Simpson on the bench. The points accumulated by the bargains in the starting lineup totalled an embarrassing 9 points. Man City new boy Leroy Sane failed to even make the Citizens’ squad against Sunderland. Luckily, Darren Fletcher brought 3 points off the bench, sparing our blushes somewhat. It was left to Philippe Coutinho and captain Sergio Aguero to haul in most of our game week one points.

And what of the rest of our recommendations for week one? Like the bargains we included in our lineup, the majority of our other suggestions failed to make an impact. One man did stand out though – Nathan Redmond of Southampton.  With the Saints midfielder priced at £6m, it was folly of us not to pick him in our squad and he racked up an impressive 10 points.

So what changes do we suggest for game week two? Well Sane has to go. He may well come into contention for Pep Guardiola but Fantasy Football waits for no one, not even Leroy Sane. Therefore with our only free transfer going into game week two, we’ve opted to replace the German with the aforementioned Redmond. We’ve decided to keep the rest of the team intact for the moment. We’ll reassess the situation after game week two but if the likes of Downing, Sagna and Musa continue their low scoring, an early wild card is looming.

Game Week 2 Suggestions

Goalkeepers

Ben Foster £4.5m – The WBA keeper scored 10 points in game week one and in hindsight, may have been a more solid option than Victor Valdes.

Defenders

Stephen Kingsley £4m – Swansea didn’t really splash the cash this summer and as a result, Kingsley could see game time. At just £4m, the defender might need to be snapped up early before his price increases. Score 8 points in week one.

Jordi Amat £4m – See above (5 points in week one).

Midfielders

Leroy Fer £5m – The Dutch midfielder was signed by the Swans on a permanent basis this summer and has already managed to get on the scoresheet. Likely to pay on a regular basis, Fer’s price tag of just £5m looks a bargain.

Gaston Ramirez  £5.5m – Linked up well with Negredo for Boro’s goal at the weekend, getting points for an assist. It’s early days but it already looks like Ramirez will be a vital player for the Teesiders in 2016/17.

Forwards

Alvaro Negredo £6.5m – We’d written off Negredo as a has-been before he moved to the north of England but he’s already gotten his name on the scoresheet and Middlesbrough will hope he makes it a habit this season.

Jermain Defoe £7m – Write off this man at your peril. He may be 33 years old but the seasoned striker showed against the might of Man City that he’s still more than capable of finding the net.

Football Recommendation of the Week

-       Olympics Men’s Football Final, Saturday 20^th August; Will Brazil conquer their European adversaries like a canary-coloured phoenix from the flames? Or do they stand more chance of getting a smile out of Angela Merkel?

Non-Football Recommendation of the Week

-       Shame (Young Fathers); Despite the questionable interpetive dance routine in the video, this tune from Mercury Prize winning Scottish hip hop group, Young Fathers, is one of our most played songs on Spotify at the moment.

That’s it from us for this week…keep checking back or follow our Facebook page or Twitter for future editions.